The Alpha Jacket by Scottevest, designed by author Brad Thor, contains enough pockets to carry your everyday-carry gear and then some.
By Steve Adelmann
I spend most of my time building, shooting and writing about rifles but I am no stranger to handguns. I played around with revolvers and pistols as a teenager but I received my actual handgun education in the early ‘90s when I entered the world of Army Special Operations. There I relied on short arms in both overt and covert environments around the world. I have been a concealed handgun instructor for 16 years and I have carried concealed at every possible occasion since obtaining my permit 18 years ago. Handgun designs, tactics, ammunition and supporting equipment have evolved continuously over the years but one thing that has remained constant is the fact that regular concealed handgun carry requires patience, diligence and a willingness to bear physical punishment that sometimes rivals self-flagellation. If you live in a region where temperatures drop enough to require at least a mid-weight jacket, handgun concealment just got a lot easier thanks to best-selling author Brad Thor. Scottevest’s new Alpha Jacket was designed by Brad and is so well executed that they literally sold out a soon as the Alpha Jacket hit the market last fall.
Before going into the details of this nifty carry-all coat, let’s consider the designer. Brad Thor has authored 13 action-packed thrillers that realistically detail modern-day battles between good and evil, with an emphasis on covert activities. You need only turn a few pages to get hooked and see that Thor draws on real-world experiences from a wide variety of military, law enforcement and other sources with specialized backgrounds. What does that have to do with concealed carry? Thor also happens to be a long time concealed handgun licensee and avid shooter. Just as he does with his works of “faction,” Thor poured experience-based effort into the design of the Alpha Jacket in order to provide a supremely utilitarian tool for anyone with a need to hide their personal gear in plain sight. But the Alpha Jacket is not just another coat with inside pockets or a loose cut to hide a belt-mounted hog leg, it is a system for carrying enough gear to help get you out of trouble, or better yet, to avoid it altogether.
The Alpha Jacket has somewhere in the neighborhood three dozen pockets but there may be more. It is actually hard to keep track of all the hiding places this urban “load bearing vest” actually has. The jacket’s webpage has a great diagram of the pockets as well as a manual explaining their recommended uses. It is set up to easily carry things like sunglasses, ballistic protective glasses, ballistic protective panels, ear protection, a laptop computer or tablet, a smart phone or other communications device(s), headphones (wired into nearly any pocket through wiring channels), wrist microphone and/or PTT switch, spike-type sleeve daggers, pens, ID/passport/credit cards, flex cuffs or handcuffs, medical kit, compass, handheld light and of course a concealed handgun and holster with several spare magazines. That’s just for starters. Other notable features include an RFID-protective inner pocket, multiple hidden pockets, a clear plastic cover that allows use of touch screen phones, “armor cut” sizing to accommodate soft body armor, removable logos, tricot linings for hook and loop attachments, a neutral colored, matte soft-shell finish to reduce nighttime signature and an IR-reflective inhibiting coating that will last for ten wash cycles. It is safe to say that should you need to carry something without looking ridiculously obvious (think photo journalist vest) this is your jacket. Even with pockets loaded down the Alpha Jacket looks amazingly sleek from the outside.
I have been wearing the Alpha Jacket for about two months. My only complaint is not the jacket’s fault but rather poor timing on my part. I am not exactly quick on the uptake when new products hit the market so by the time I ordered an Alpha Jacket for testing the only size available was medium. I would normally order a size large for my 5’8” frame but since these are cut for body armor I went ahead and got the medium, gambling that a large would be too big since I don’t plan to wear soft armor.
When I’m standing or walking normally the fit is perfect. In fact it looks like any other casual soft shell coat you would see on the street. But my chest and shoulders are wide enough that the sleeves are too short for over-the-head arm movement. It really is not much of a problem unless I need to traverse monkey bars or play lacrosse on my way to the gas station. I would get a large if I were going to order again. Beyond that, the coat is perfect for me.
Rapid Access Panels (RAPs) reveal very large pockets situated on either side of the wearer’s chest, allowing big and small items to be carried and accessed, well, rapidly. I stuck some hook side Velcro to the back of an old Kydex pocket holster and have been moving it around the Alpha Jacket’s cavernous interior to figure out where best to hide it within easy reach. Quickly drawing a handgun from concealment requires total efficiency of movement. The Alpha Jacket allows you to tailor your draw stroke so that no excess time or energy is wasted as you present the handgun. A great feature is that the RAP zippers have uniquely shaped and textured pulls. This is a critical feature because when a threat is right in your face, the last place you want your eyes is on your pocket as you search for the right pull. Worse yet is opening the wrong pocket while trying to rapidly get a defensive weapon into action. The RAPs’ pulls will tell you by feel whether or not you’re in the right place. They are very easy to find and open with practice. Another carry-friendly feature is a pair of side zippers that allow quick access to waist-level equipment. The sleeves also partially unzip to allow retrieval of items in the slim pockets contained just outside the inner cuffs. Small pockets for weights (change, bullets, etc.) are located inside larger side pockets to aid throwing the coat open and clear of a belt holster or reloads. I am much faster drawing from within the Alpha Jacket than with any other outer garment I have used.
I employ both a mirror and my wife’s eyes to make sure my handguns and gear don’t print. So far I’ve had no trouble with concealment using this coat. It allows me to carry a bunch of good-to-have items that would normally be left in my vehicle or at home. The biggest problem with the Alpha Jacket may just be that the wearer is able to carry so much gear they could forget what is where.
Again, practice finding critical items in a hurry will solve that problem. My covert days are long over so I keep my jacket’s contents to minimum: phone, handgun, magazine, light, small med kit, knife, pen, glasses and a couple other things I may have lost track of…
So what is not to like about this coat? Availability. They are currently sold out until sometime this spring. Scottevest placed a link on its website that allows one to request notification when the next batch of Alpha Jackets are in stock and ready to ship. My guess is the list is already pretty long.
The concealed-carry market has needed something like the Alpha Jacket for a long, long time. I have carried hidden guns and gear in environments ranging from 120 degrees F to 20 below zero. In most cases the decision to carry needed gear translated to an increased the risk of being compromised. An
Alpha Jacket would have made my life much easier in those days. I like to show my concealed carry students the carry gear that works for me and that which does not. The latter category consists of two large bins filled with concealment holsters, shirts, pouches and packs that I have tried and found lacking. The conversely small number of concealment devices that I actually trust and use regularly just went up by one.
Brad Thor has demonstrated that he is every bit as much an action guy as he is a great fiction writer. I plan to pay closer attention to products bearing his name in the future. Maybe we’ll see a Bravo Hat or Charlie Speedos before too long. On second thought, the Alpha Jacket is good enough for me…
Before going into the details of this nifty carry-all coat, let’s consider the designer. Brad Thor has authored 13 action-packed thrillers that realistically detail modern-day battles between good and evil, with an emphasis on covert activities. You need only turn a few pages to get hooked and see that Thor draws on real-world experiences from a wide variety of military, law enforcement and other sources with specialized backgrounds. What does that have to do with concealed carry? Thor also happens to be a long time concealed handgun licensee and avid shooter. Just as he does with his works of “faction,” Thor poured experience-based effort into the design of the Alpha Jacket in order to provide a supremely utilitarian tool for anyone with a need to hide their personal gear in plain sight. But the Alpha Jacket is not just another coat with inside pockets or a loose cut to hide a belt-mounted hog leg, it is a system for carrying enough gear to help get you out of trouble, or better yet, to avoid it altogether.
The Alpha Jacket has somewhere in the neighborhood three dozen pockets but there may be more. It is actually hard to keep track of all the hiding places this urban “load bearing vest” actually has. The jacket’s webpage has a great diagram of the pockets as well as a manual explaining their recommended uses. It is set up to easily carry things like sunglasses, ballistic protective glasses, ballistic protective panels, ear protection, a laptop computer or tablet, a smart phone or other communications device(s), headphones (wired into nearly any pocket through wiring channels), wrist microphone and/or PTT switch, spike-type sleeve daggers, pens, ID/passport/credit cards, flex cuffs or handcuffs, medical kit, compass, handheld light and of course a concealed handgun and holster with several spare magazines. That’s just for starters. Other notable features include an RFID-protective inner pocket, multiple hidden pockets, a clear plastic cover that allows use of touch screen phones, “armor cut” sizing to accommodate soft body armor, removable logos, tricot linings for hook and loop attachments, a neutral colored, matte soft-shell finish to reduce nighttime signature and an IR-reflective inhibiting coating that will last for ten wash cycles. It is safe to say that should you need to carry something without looking ridiculously obvious (think photo journalist vest) this is your jacket. Even with pockets loaded down the Alpha Jacket looks amazingly sleek from the outside.
The hardest part of having a jacket with so many options for storage is remembering where everything went...
I have been wearing the Alpha Jacket for about two months. My only complaint is not the jacket’s fault but rather poor timing on my part. I am not exactly quick on the uptake when new products hit the market so by the time I ordered an Alpha Jacket for testing the only size available was medium. I would normally order a size large for my 5’8” frame but since these are cut for body armor I went ahead and got the medium, gambling that a large would be too big since I don’t plan to wear soft armor.
When I’m standing or walking normally the fit is perfect. In fact it looks like any other casual soft shell coat you would see on the street. But my chest and shoulders are wide enough that the sleeves are too short for over-the-head arm movement. It really is not much of a problem unless I need to traverse monkey bars or play lacrosse on my way to the gas station. I would get a large if I were going to order again. Beyond that, the coat is perfect for me.
Rapid Access Panels (RAPs) reveal very large pockets situated on either side of the wearer’s chest, allowing big and small items to be carried and accessed, well, rapidly. I stuck some hook side Velcro to the back of an old Kydex pocket holster and have been moving it around the Alpha Jacket’s cavernous interior to figure out where best to hide it within easy reach. Quickly drawing a handgun from concealment requires total efficiency of movement. The Alpha Jacket allows you to tailor your draw stroke so that no excess time or energy is wasted as you present the handgun. A great feature is that the RAP zippers have uniquely shaped and textured pulls. This is a critical feature because when a threat is right in your face, the last place you want your eyes is on your pocket as you search for the right pull. Worse yet is opening the wrong pocket while trying to rapidly get a defensive weapon into action. The RAPs’ pulls will tell you by feel whether or not you’re in the right place. They are very easy to find and open with practice. Another carry-friendly feature is a pair of side zippers that allow quick access to waist-level equipment. The sleeves also partially unzip to allow retrieval of items in the slim pockets contained just outside the inner cuffs. Small pockets for weights (change, bullets, etc.) are located inside larger side pockets to aid throwing the coat open and clear of a belt holster or reloads. I am much faster drawing from within the Alpha Jacket than with any other outer garment I have used.
I employ both a mirror and my wife’s eyes to make sure my handguns and gear don’t print. So far I’ve had no trouble with concealment using this coat. It allows me to carry a bunch of good-to-have items that would normally be left in my vehicle or at home. The biggest problem with the Alpha Jacket may just be that the wearer is able to carry so much gear they could forget what is where.
Again, practice finding critical items in a hurry will solve that problem. My covert days are long over so I keep my jacket’s contents to minimum: phone, handgun, magazine, light, small med kit, knife, pen, glasses and a couple other things I may have lost track of…
So what is not to like about this coat? Availability. They are currently sold out until sometime this spring. Scottevest placed a link on its website that allows one to request notification when the next batch of Alpha Jackets are in stock and ready to ship. My guess is the list is already pretty long.
The concealed-carry market has needed something like the Alpha Jacket for a long, long time. I have carried hidden guns and gear in environments ranging from 120 degrees F to 20 below zero. In most cases the decision to carry needed gear translated to an increased the risk of being compromised. An
Alpha Jacket would have made my life much easier in those days. I like to show my concealed carry students the carry gear that works for me and that which does not. The latter category consists of two large bins filled with concealment holsters, shirts, pouches and packs that I have tried and found lacking. The conversely small number of concealment devices that I actually trust and use regularly just went up by one.
Brad Thor has demonstrated that he is every bit as much an action guy as he is a great fiction writer. I plan to pay closer attention to products bearing his name in the future. Maybe we’ll see a Bravo Hat or Charlie Speedos before too long. On second thought, the Alpha Jacket is good enough for me…
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